The Bears began the 2012 season with a beautiful ride to Westover School, where the squad eventually earned a 3-1 win over the Wildcats. With a mixture of new and returning players on the court, the team played well in stretches but also experienced periods of doubt, indecision, and ragged play. Good serving and enthusiastic play, combined with the Bears searching for some on-court chemistry, saw the Wildcats jump out to a 10-3 advantage in set one. Setter Krissy Goversten ’15provided the catalyst, a series of sparkling serves, that raised our confidence and enabled the Bears to take a 12-10 lead. Good serving by Em Barclay ‘15 and Katie Stonecipher ’15, as well as timely kills by Em, Samone Defreese ’15, and Caitlin Kiene ’13, enabled the squad to stretch our lead to 21-15. Maddy Maher ’12 also contributed with a nice block. Our seniors took over at this point as a kill by Katie Moffett ’13 sent Eliza Berg ’13 to the service line. Elizascored the next two points on her serve, and Caitlin capped our 25-16 win with a nice kill from the middle.

Early in set two, the two squads contended on an even basis for points. With the score at 7-4 Bears, momentum began to swing toward the home side of the court. We became tentative and quiet as the Wildcats gained confidence and points. Due to a combination of solid serving by Westover and unforced errors by the Bears, the Wildcats rolled to a 25-12 win to even the match at a set each.

Set three was the crucial set of the match. The two teams engaged in a series of short scoring runs that led to lead changes with each new server. Behind the serving of Eliza B. and the hitting of Caitlin, our co-captains, the Bears trailed by only one point (16-17) as we began the second service rotation. Once again, solid serving by Eliza sparked us to a 19-16 advantage. Westover responded to tie the set 19-19. After an exchange of side outs, kills by Em and Samone, plus two Wildcat serving mistakes, enabled the Bears to claw out a 23-21 advantage. Westover responded with a three-point run to go ahead 24-23 and reach set point. A Wildcat passing error tied the set (24-24) and sent Katie Stonecipher to service line for the Bears. Two laser serves later, the Bears had a 26-24 win and a 2-1 set advantage.

In set four, Berkshire took to the floor with confidence and passion, which led to the Bears taking a 20-8 lead. Although everyone contributed, Katie Moffett, Eliza B., and Caitlin- three of our seniors- took charge and played well. At this point, our focus and intensity drooped as the Wildcats rallied to cut into our lead. In the end, kills by Maddy Maher, Caitlin, and Eliza B., coupled with two serving errors by Westover, allowed us to close out the set, and the match, with a 25-16 win.

As anticipated, our seniors (Caitlin, Eliz B., Katie Moffett, and Maddy Maher) led the way today. All served well, hustled on the court, and played well at the net. Our passing was anchored by Caitlin, Eliza B. and newcomer Katie Stonecipher ’15. At the net, Caitlin had a match high 12 kills while Katie Moffett and Em Barclay had five kills each, Samone chipped in with four, and Maddy Maher added a block to her three kills. Elif Kesaf ’14 and Krissy Goversten had eleven and seven assists respectively. Finally, Greta Dorsey ’14 came off the bench in the last two sets to help settle our passing game. Caitlin (12 kills, 3 aces and solid passing) earned player of the match honors and will hold “Bear” until our next match. Due to her fine play at the net and her enthusiasm throughout the match, the team voted to have “Moose” (our totem of heart and team play) reside with Katie Moffett this week. After a week of adjustments and tweaking, the squad will take to the road to vie with the Wildcats of Williston Northampton School on Saturday, September 22 at 2:30 p.m.

Berkshire School is a co-ed, New England college preparatory boarding and day school offering a rigorous academic course of study. Our campus, located in Massachusetts, has state-of-the-art academic, artistic and athletic facilities on a stunning 400-acre campus in the Berkshires.